Colorado: CHSAA set to debate full agenda

The 67-member legislative body will consider one constitutional, 14 administrative and 15 sport committee proposals, in addition to one activity and two policy recommendations. The meeting is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. at the Red Lion Hotel Southeast (Interstate 225 & Parker Road).

With the current two-year sport cycle set to expire at the end of the school year in June, the most substantive BOC business will be to establish updated classifications and new league alignments for schools for the 2010-12 competitive rotation.

While the sport committee reports (which include the new league alignments) figure to take up the bulk of the meeting, there are several administrative proposals that are of note.

Two of the administrative proposals will address the current transfer rule, which essentially requires a student-athlete who transfers schools without a bona fide family move to miss half the varsity contests at the student-athlete’s new school, in any sport in which he/she participated at the previous school.

Under one proposal by the CHSAA Executive Committee, the transfer rule would receive additional support language. If approved, a student-athlete would be ineligible for one year if the transfer was deemed to be "substantially motivated by athletic consideration." Although the Executive Committee recognized the possibility that the new standard might be difficult to prove, it wanted to make such a statement, nonetheless, according to the committee report.

Determining the motivation for a transfer wouldn’t be an issue, though, if another Executive Committee recommendation is approved. In a proposal that would significantly alter the transfer rule, a student-athlete who transfers to a school where his/her club coach is employed would be limited to sub-varsity competition for a year. The proposal is designed to discourage athletically motivated transfers.

Also, the Executive Committee has proposed a bylaw that would allow some flexibility in the current Sunday Contact Rule, permitting contact between coaches and student-athletes for "voluntary social, academic or service related activities."

In addition, one policy recommendation that could impact the postseason in nearly every sport will be considered. The CHSAA Executive Committee has proposed that all sports committees use geography "as the primary consideration" when determining formats for the playoffs, to help schools deal with current economic conditions. The rationale is the proposal will help schools save money by cutting down on travel expenses in the postseason.

Most notable are several playoff changes: Class A 6-Man would play crossover games in Week 9, featuring the top four teams in each league; in A 8-Man, the winners of the Week 9 crossover games would be seeded instead of being placed in a predetermined 16-team bracket; the four wild-card qualifiers in 2A may now come from any league; in 3A the seven league champions and the top wild-card qualifier would receive a top-eight seed and a first-round home playoff game, and the 16-team state field will be seeded; the top 16 qualifiers in the 5A state bracket will be locked in, while teams Nos. 17-32 may move up or down one seed to avoid a league opponent in the first round; also in 5A, the higher-seeded team will be the home team from the quarterfinals through the state championship.